03.08.12
Cardiff station struggles to cope with record passenger numbers
Extra seats and better information has been promised for passengers attending the next Team GB football match, following massive disruption on Wednesday night at Cardiff station.
A record number of passengers used the station after the match – a total of 19,500. This is more than double the normal figure after an event at the Millennium Stadium, First Great Western (FGW) said.
Of those passengers, 9,000 used FGW services. The situation was described as “chaos” by passengers, with the average time spent queuing outside 35 minutes. 27 buses were laid on for passengers from Cardiff to Bristol.
Operators Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) and FGW are working to avoid a similar situation this Saturday as the men’s football team takes on South Korea. About 70,000 people will fill the Millennium Stadium for the game.
A spokesperson for FGW said it had struggled “with twice as many customers travelling by public transport than for any other event held at the Millennium Stadium”.
“Many of those travelling to the match had not purchased tickets in advance, so the true number of passengers travelling could only be ascertained on the day of travel.”
An ATW spokesperson added: “We recognise that fans will have had to wait outside the station before boarding their services home, however, this was done to ensure the safe and controlled movement of large volumes of people onto trains.
“We are currently working with First Great Western to ensure that extra capacity to Bristol and London is in place ahead of Saturday’s Team GB fixture in Cardiff.”
ATW apologised for any communications issues in the long queues and added: “We are redesigning our queuing system to ensure that there is additional space for First Great Western passengers on Cardiff Central forecourt.”
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